The pitching market seems like a very demanding one this year. where would you put a lefty bat? I assume you're talking about replacing Dirks in the platoon with Tuiopposopo, but I'm not sure it's time to give up on him yet. I guess I'm in the small minority that thinks no trade, or one for a lesser-known reliever, would be enough to get this team to the Series.

And I agree with all your points following. White's existence makes either Ericsson or Kindl expendable. Personally, I'd love to see Kindl go because he seems to be good for at least one boneheaded turnover per game, but I know a lot of people think that Big E has jumped the shark.

A realistic defense looks like Suter/White, Kronwall/Quincey, Ericsson/Kindl/Smith. I'm all right with that.

1. It depends on what your definition of "physical skater" is. Rick Nash is a big guy, but he's also a prolific goal scorer on a horrible team. Traditionally, your "checking lines" are your third and fourth lines, with the top six forwards out there to put the puck in the net. I don't think anyone argues that our defense is physical enough, they just can't handle the puck in their own zone sometimes *coughKindlcough*. I don't think they need to seek out a checking forward for the sake of having a checking forward.

2. The names on everyone's short list are Ryan Suter and Zach Parise. With the Devils' (and to a lesser extent, the Preds') deep run in the playoffs, luring those guys away will be harder than we thought. As far as Suter goes, he's apparently in extension talks with Nashville, who really wants to lock him down before the start of free agency. If he doesn't sign an extension before the free agency period, expect the Wings to throw an exorbitant contract offer at him. Parise is more of an enigma, just because his team is still playing. He won't touch on his contract or free agency until the off-season. I will say that he has played good, but not great, hockey for the Devils during the playoffs. Get Rick Nash out of your head, though. He's still under contract, so the Jackets are trying to trade him. In order to pick him up, you'd probably have to ship two or three starting players and a few draft picks, and nobody is worth that much.

3. Suter is your best/flashiest bet to step into the lineup. There is also a young defenseman in L.A. whose name escapes me that might be worth kicking the tires on. Even if you only sign one off-season defenseman (and assuming Stuart leaves like everyone thinks he will), you'll still have Kronwall/Ericsson/Kindl/Quincey/Smith. With Suter in there, that's not a bad blue line at all.

4. He's not going anywhere, and nor should he.

5. Honestly, you're just butthurt. You don't fire a coach when he gets you to the playoffs every season. Look what happened to the Pistons after they fired Larry Brown when he took them to four straight conference finals.

6. Look for one of Hudler, Franzen, Filppula, and Abdelkader to get shipped in a mid-to-high-level trade. If they sign more than one defenseman, you could see Ericsson, Kindl, or Smith get moved as well. I'd love to see them ship Zetterberg for two or three players, but his contract makes that somewhat prohibitive.

I'm an M2, currently performing at Wayne State's Match Day celebration with the a capella group at the med school. Can't wait for the day two years from now when I'm sitting with my envelope! Congrats, new doctors!

Godin's lollygagging started on the first series, before he had even played a snap defensively. Maybe I'm being a little hard on him, but I could count on one hand the number of times I felt like he was going balls-out on the field. Maybe he knew he could manhandle the other team's linemen with 60% effort.

that Rivals and Scout generally don't rate committed kids as high as comparable uncommitted kids, for whatever reason. So don't be surprised if our commits are on the lower end of the rankings.if that happens.

That said, I'm overjoyed with how well Hoke and co. have recruited, and I strongly feel that the 2012 class is going to set a strong benchmark for years to come.